Driver charged in death of actress’ toddler kills herself

November 7, 2018

FILE - In this March 8, 2018 file photo, people gather at a sidewalk memorial for two children who were killed the previous week when they were struck by a car driven by a woman who likely had a seizure behind the wheel, in the Park Slope neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough of New York. Authorities say the woman who lost control of her car and fatally struck the child of a Tony Award-winning Broadway actress and another toddler in a Brooklyn crosswalk has died of an apparent suicide. Dorothy Bruns was found dead in her home in Staten Island borough of New York on Tuesday, Nov. 6. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Authorities say a woman who lost control of her car and fatally struck the child of a Tony Award-winning Broadway actress and another toddler in a Brooklyn crosswalk has died of an apparent suicide.

Forty-four-year-old Dorothy Bruns was found dead in her Staten Island home Tuesday. Authorities say pills and a note were found nearby.

Bruns faced 15 years in jail after being charged with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, reckless endangerment and assault following the accident in March.

Authorities say Bruns had a seizure while stopped at a red light. Her car drove forward, killing Ruthie Ann Blumenstein’s 4-year-old daughter and the 1-year-old son of another parent. Blumenstein later lost her unborn child.

Prosecutors say doctors had told Bruns not to drive after she had a previous medical episode.